


horizon

by Lyre (Lyrecho)



Series: say goodbye to yesteryear [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Author does what she wants, But He Deserves It So I'll Let It Slide, But They Will Be Teenagers During The Main Game Timeline, Capitalisation Is All Over The Place Here Whoops, Gen, Hau Accidentally Stole The Entire Show For This One, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, In This House We Do Not Support Letting Ten Years Olds Out In The Wilds Solo, In a sense, Lorebuilding, Moon is called Luna, No Beta We Die Like This Is A Nuzlocke, Set Pre-Game, TW: Lusamine, They're Still Fairly Baby Here, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:42:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26441410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyrecho/pseuds/Lyre
Summary: Growing up is hard, and painful, and unfair.A look into the lives of four lonely children - just on the cusp of their fates intertwining and converging on Alola.|Tumblr||Twitter|
Relationships: Hau & Mizuki | Selene (Pokemon Sun & Moon)
Series: say goodbye to yesteryear [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922041
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16





	horizon

When Gladion is ten years old, he is happy.

“Don’t bite your nails, Gladion.” Mother slaps his hand down. He hadn’t even realised it was in his mouth. He slides it into his pocket - Mother scowls at what she sees as bad posture, but she doesn’t tell him off. On her other side, Lillie grips Mother’s hand tightly, and Gladion resists the urge to reach up and hold her free one.

He’s a big boy. Mother wouldn’t like it.

“Lusamine!” Father’s voice, and Mother’s scowl slips into a smile as soon as she hears it. “I wasn’t expecting to see you down here today,” he says, and grins down at Gladion. He ruffles his hair - normally, Mother would be upset at his hair being messy, but nothing Father does ever upsets her. 

It’s probably a grown-up thing.

“Lillie wanted to see you,” Mother says, still smiling. Gladion knows it’s as much a lie as it is the truth.

They’d all wanted to see Father. Mother had just wanted to see him the most.

“I’m always happy to make some time for my little Lillipup,” Father says, and bends down to scoop Lillie up in his arms. “You want to see the pokémon, darling?”

Silent and wide-eyed, Lillie nods. Father walks off with a laugh, pointing at different enclosures and explaining what each pokémon is as they pass by.

Mother watches them, as silent as Lillie. Her smile isn’t gone, but it seems dimmer, now.

Calling on every piece of bravery he has, Gladion tentatively reaches out to loop his pinky around Mother’s.

She startles, and then, after a moment of looking down at him, lets out a little laugh.

“Well, then,” she says, sounding amused, “shall we join them?” With a little tug, she leads him to where Father and Lillie stand together.

When Gladion is ten years old, his family is together. 

His family is happy.

-x-

When Luna is ten years old, she makes her very first best friend.

She comes home from school one afternoon with the assignment her teacher gave her heavy in her bag and heavy on her mind.

_ A penpal _ , she thinks. She can’t make friends in real life - how is she meant to make one through letters?

Blonde haired and blue-eyed, Luna Durand takes after her Kalosian father almost entirely. She doesn’t mind it, most of the time - she  _ loves _ her papa; he’s one of her favourite people in the whole wide world.

There’s no denying, though, that, sometimes, not looking like the people around you means you don’t look like you belong. And if it walks like a psyduck, and quacks like a psyduck - if you look like you don’t belong…

...eventually, at some point, you won’t, anymore.

Her classmates are nice. Her neighbours are nice. But no one ever invites Luna over to play, and Luna doesn’t invite kids over to her house, anymore - she speaks Kantonian fluently, having grown up with it as her mother tongue, but for both her parents, foreign to Kanto, it’s their  _ third _ language; her mother spoke Alolan and Unovan as easy as breathing, but struggled with Kantonian, and her father spoke mostly Kalosian, while being conversational - if not fluent - in both Galarian and Kantonian. With papa working most days, the neighbours have to interact with mama when they organise their playdates - and it’s difficult for her. Even at ten years of age, Luna knows it is.

So, she stops asking people over. She doesn’t want to be a bother to her mama. 

Eventually, people stop asking her altogether. Eventually, the whispers around school stop calling her ‘shy.’

They call her ‘stuck up.’

_ Thinks she’s better than us _ , she hears hissed through the halls. A boy on the playground tugs at her braid and calls her golden girl. It isn’t a compliment.

“Luna?” Mama’s voice, echoing from the kitchen. “Sweetie, is that you?”

“It’s me,” Luna says, and pads down the hall, making sure to toe her shoes off. “What are you cooking, mama?”

“Dinner!”

“What’s for dinner?”

“Food.”

“What kind of food?”

_ “Yummy _ food.”

Luna pouts. “Mama,” she says. “That’s cheating.”

Mama winks at her over her shoulder, but before she turns back to face her pot, she freezes, an odd expression crossing her face. “Luna,” she says, carefully, “sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

Luna doesn’t know how mama knows from just a look that something is wrong, or how she could even begin to explain the nerves that are bubbling up inside her, so she doesn’t - simply reaches into her satchel, pulls out the information sheet her teacher had given her, and fidgets and avoids her mother’s gaze while she reads.

“A penpal?” Mama sounds surprised.

Luna nods. “Teacher said to ask our parents about family members that live outside of Kanto,” she says. “Rin is going to pick her cousin in Johto, which is boring, but Hina says her sister moved to Unova when she got married, so she’s going to write to her.” They hadn’t told her this - Luna had simply overheard them.

Mama  _ hmms _ thoughtfully. “Have you thought about who you want to write?” She asks. 

Luna shakes her head,  _ no. _ “I thought about grand-mère,” she says, “but she only knows Kalosian, and I’m bad at Kalosian.” It’s true. She can only really understand phone calls with grand-mère when papa is there to translate for both of them.

Mama  _ hmms _ again. “How about this,” she says, “I’ll email some of my old schoolmates in Alola, and see if any of them want to get to know you? Does that sound good, Luna?”

“Yeah - yeah, it does, mama,” she says, and looks at her feet. 

Mama laughs and ruffles her hair. “I see the moon…” she begins.

“...and the moon sees me!” Automatically, Luna reaches up to slap her palm against her mother’s. Mama gives her hand a squeeze before she lets go. 

“Now, off with you,” she says, teasing grin on her face, and makes shooing motions at Luna. “Go play, so I can finish dinner before your papa gets home.”

“Do you need help, mama?”

“Mama’s doing just fine, baby,” she says. “You go have fun.”

Papa’s home a bit over an hour later, and as they’re all sitting down for dinner, mama smiles at Luna from across the table. “You know how I said I’d email a few of my old classmates?”

Holding out her plate so papa can scoop potatoes onto it, Luna nods.

“Well, one of them got back to me - her name’s Kalani, and she says she has a son about your age that she’d love to have you write to. Apparently he seems pretty excited about it, too!” The corners of mama’s eyes crinkle as her smile brightens. “Does that sound good to you, Luna?”

She’s still nervous, there’s no denying it. Nervous enough that she feels slightly queasy, and has to force down her next forkful with gritted teeth. Still, she swallows. She presses on. “It sounds perfect,” she says.

“I’ll have to email Kalani back after dinner,” Mama says, “let her and her boy know you’ve agreed.”

“Sounds good,” Papa says, bemused - he clearly has no idea what’s going on, but is supporting them anyway. “For now, let’s eat!”

When Luna is ten years old, she makes her very first best friend. 

His name is Hau Akamu.

-x-

When Lillie is nine years old, her world falls apart for the very first time.

She doesn’t really notice at first. There are a few nights of tense, silent dinners, of Father not coming home, but that isn’t anything unusual. Sometimes, Father works so hard that he forgets to come home, and Mother will cook and pack up a meal to take to him, because otherwise he’d forget to eat.

And then, on the third night of no Father seated at the head of the table, Gladion asks, curiosity in his voice, where Father is.

Mother slaps him.

Lillie’s fork hits her plate with a chiming  _ ting, _ and she winces immediately. Mother doesn’t like it when they’re clumsy. She doesn’t like it when they’re messy. She doesn’t like it when cutlery scrapes against crockery.

And Mother is always at her worst when she is angry. 

Mother doesn’t even seem to notice Lillie’s mistake, though. She’s staring, with wide eyes, at the space between her outstretched hand and Gladion’s red cheek. She looks stunned. She doesn’t look apologetic.

“Are you okay, Gladion?” Mother’s voice is soft as she sits back down. She still isn’t looking at them properly, and Lillie takes the opportunity to pick her fork back up before Mother can realise she dropped it at all.

“I’m fine,” Gladion says, even though his cheek is a bright red that’s so, so noticeable against the white of the rest of his face. He looks pale and sick, and Lillie can’t blame him. Mother scolds, voice pointed and sharp. Mother locks them in their rooms. Mother takes away their toys. Mother  _ doesn’t _ hit them. “I’m sorry.”

He doesn’t know what he’s apologising for, Lillie  _ knows _ he doesn’t, but he does it anyway. Some of Mother’s stiffness fades, and she manages to resummon her smile. “Good,” she says, mollified. “Don’t ask that again.”

Gladion nods, just once, and the rest of dinner passes in silence. Mother dismisses herself first, and once she’s gone, Gladion immediately shoves himself away from the table.

He runs in the direction of the downstairs bathroom, and Lillie runs after him.

“Gladion?” She says, and nudges open the bathroom door. “Are you oka -  _ Gladion!” _

Her big brother stands bent over the sink, cupping water in his hands to rinse out his mouth. Diluted red swirls down the drain.

_ Blood _ .

“You’re - you’re bleeding,” Lillie says, shaky and feeling sick.

_ Mother doesn’t hit them. Mother doesn’t hurt them. _

Gladion grunts. “Teeth cut the inside of my cheek,” he mumbles.

_ Mother made Gladion  _ bleed.

His eyes meet hers in the mirror. “Don’t tell anyone,” he whispers.

When Lillie is nine years old, her world falls apart for the very first time.

She never quite manages to put it back together again.

-x-

When Hau Akamu is thirteen years old, he’s been friends with Luna Durand for almost three years.

He’s never met her - not in person, at least - but he feels like he knows her well enough anyway to say she’s absolutely his best friend in the whole wide world, except maybe for Gramps, who doesn’t count, because he’s Gramps.

Hau doesn’t usually think about Luna a lot when he’s at school - Luna-time is evening time, when he’s home and done his homework and the PC is free so they can video call - but sometimes, the weirdest things remind him of her.

Their lesson at school today is something fun; not math or Galarian Lit, but  _ pokemon _ . The teacher is talking mostly about regional variants - specifically Alolan ones, but she shows a picture of Galarian Weezing that makes quiet laughter echo out around the room - and, leading off from that, regional  _ starters _ .

Hau knows the Alolan starters better than maybe anyone else out there who’s yet to do an island challenge. He knows the requirements and tests you have to pass to even  _ qualify _ for an  _ application _ to get a starter - technically, anyone with enough money and a trainer’s license could get themselves a starter pokemon from any region, but that still wouldn’t make them a  _ starter.  _ The whole entire reason that it’s such a chore to qualify for one these days is because the ones the professors give out are bred for battling; to aid with whatever League the trainer in question is challenging, sure, but also to protect those few who qualify who  _ aren’t _ looking to become battlers. These days, there are more restrictions on the distribution of pokemon than ever, and what isn’t gated by age or wealth is gated by grades. Some people shoot for college scholarships. Hau Akamu, age thirteen, is shooting for the coveted slot of one of three elite trainers per year who get sponsored to act as research assistants for a region’s professor by filling out their dex and training up their pokemon - and are paid for that service with a regional elemental starter. 

And - while he may be biased - as far as Hau is concerned, the Alolan starters are the absolute  _ best _ ones out there. He knows their evolutions, optimal stat spreads, everything. He’s known for years, because he’s  _ going _ to qualify for a starter, just like Gramps (even if Gramps, back in his day, had had to jump through way less bureaucratic hoops to get his hands on a Litten than Hau was going to have to), and then they’ll take on the island challenge together.

It’s while he’s daydreaming about this - him and Litten, against the world - that the thought of Luna flickers into his mind. She, like him, is studying to qualify for a starter; he thinks, in Kanto, it’s like it is in Alola, with three spots per year up for grabs as to who gets a starter from the region’s Professor, and you’re eligible to apply for one of those spots once you hit fourteen and some months - basically, if you turn fifteen within the year you send in your application. She won’t be doing the island challenge, though - she’ll be doing the gym circuit of Kanto’s League, which Hau is excited for, because they televise those - even if, in Alola, the only way he’ll be able to see it is on cable. It’s worth it, he thinks - it’ll be the coolest thing in the world to see Luna battle live on TV.

Luna and Squirtle, taking on the Gym Leaders together - because Hau knows just what starter Luna will be going for when she qualifies. She’s always had an affinity for water-types, and he  _ knows _ she thinks Squirtle is the cutest of the three Kantonian starters; her affinity for cute things is almost as big as the water-type bias.

There’s a part of him - the part that’s eager to meet his best friend in person one day, hopefully  _ soon _ \- that whispers that when the time comes, he should pick Rowlet for his starter; an advantage over Luna, when they finally meet and  _ absolutely _ battle.

But Hau is more than just that competitive spirit that burns deep inside, and he’s desperately wanted a Litten for literally as long as he can remember. By the time he and Luna get the opportunity to battle, anyway, he’s sure he’ll have filled out his team roster more - he’ll have someone else on hand to account for the numerous water-types Luna will definitely have;  _ theme over strategy, _ her voice sing-songs in his mind.

“Hau Akamu.” Teach’s voice, trying for annoyance but too amused to really sell it. “Are you paying any attention at all to class?”

“No,” Hau says, honest and slightly contrite. “Sorry, Teach - I was daydreaming.” He admits it easily. Literally no one in the classroom is surprised, though he notices some of his deskmates shaking their heads in a distant sort of fond exasperation.

Teach shakes her head. “Dreaming is all well and good, Hau,” she says, somewhere between amused and scolding, “but I need you to be paying attention to  _ me _ right now, okay?”

“Right,” Hau says, not quite repentant but apologetic enough that Teach turns her attention away from him and back to the class as a whole, picking up her lecture as if she’d never dropped her train of thought in the first place. He’s a man of his word, so as tempting as it is to let his focus drift - this material is  _ easy _ , he could  _ actually  _ recite it in his sleep - he listens well and joins in on the discussion. Participation points, if nothing else, and talking is always fun.

The day - and the lessons in it - pass swiftly after that, with the classes that follow far less interesting. He rushes home, avoiding the patches of long grass that dot the roads, waving at the people and trainers he passes. When he pushes the back door open and comes in through the kitchen, Ma yells for him to take off his shoes;  _ I’ll not have you tracking dirt through my house, Hau _ . He lets out a nervous laugh and rubs the back of his head, but does as he’s told.

“Any homework?” She asks, and Hau perks up as she hands him a plate of malasadas - fresh, not store bought.

“I love you,” he says. “So much, ma. And - yeah, some, but…” He trails off, and shuffles on his feet nervously. “Luna’s got a free day,” he says. “You know the time difference between here and Kanto - it’s early morning for her. We were gonna spend some time on trapin.ch before she has to go be like, productive, and before I have to go to bed.” He does his best impression of Baby-Doll Eyes. “Please?”

Ma sighs - that familiar  _ my family is unbelievable  _ sigh she brings out whenever Gramps or dad brings home some injured pokemon for the weekend.  _ Aether, _ she reminds them then.  _ The Aether Foundation exists. _

“Homework,” she reminds Hau now. “You have homework.”

“You know me,” he says. “I’ll get it done!”

Ma narrows her eyes at him. “Two hours with Luna now,” she allows. “Then, homework after dinner.”

Hau cheers, and throws his arms around ma’s middle. “You’re the best,” he tells her. “The absolute best.”

“And don’t you  _ ever _ forget it,” she says, and gives him a playful whap on the head as he lets her go to rush upstairs, keeping his malasadas perfectly balanced on their plate.

Once in his room, he gets himself seated comfortably at his desk, clearing a place for his plate before turning on his monitor and tabbing open the web client to trapin.ch; a green dot glows by Luna’s lit up name - she’s already online.

> **hauwwo:** ayyy we ready to go

They’d set up a permanent room for just the two of them forever ago, in order to avoid the hassle of waiting to be queued up everytime they wanted to watch a vinewhip compilation or the latest official International League battle videos - so it’s quick and simple to shoot Luna a message right through the room chat, instead of trying to DM her.

> **luGnarly:** just a sec, hau   
>  **luGnarly:** did we ever decide what we were going to watch, actually   
>  **hauwwo:** the options are either this teledrama i’ve been watching or a teledrama of your suggestion   
>  **luGnarly:** why teledramas   
>  **hauwwo:** i mean, why NOT teledramas   
>  **hauwwo:** but the real answer is i was at Gramps over the weekend and he pulled me into watching a marathon of the young & the rayquaza reruns   
>  **hauwwo:** loons i may have an addiction   
>  **luGnarly:** what is this teledrama even about,   
>  **hauwwo:** DRAMA, LUNA

He’s mostly playing it up, but he is genuinely interested in getting Luna to watch it with him - if only so he can see her reaction to even just  _ half _ of the crazy nonsense that goes down episode by episode in the world of  _ The Young & The Rayquaza _ . It is, absolutely, not at all because he’s been thinking of what’s going to happen next since he’d left Gramps’ place that past weekend, and he hasn’t really had the opportunity to look up the next episodes himself.

> **hauwwo:** do you mind if we start in like, the middle of season 3   
>  **luGnarly:** would starting from the pilot make it make any more sense   
>  **hauwwo:** probably not. it’s unovan. they’re all crazy over there.   
>  **luGnarly:** you haven’t seen crazy til you’ve seen kalosian arthouse cinema

Hau snorts as he hits play, right before he bites down on a malasada with relish. Luna’s dad is Kalosian, and on weekends where he’s at home instead of working away, Luna isn’t available to chat because it’s a family tradition at their house to watch the latest movies on the Kalosian arthouse circuit and make fun of them. Hau’s yet to experience such cultural masterpieces for himself, because Luna made him promise the first time he sat down to watch a Kalosian film would be with her physically sitting beside him, but he’s heard Tales.

After that, it’s pretty much business as usual - Hau spends his time in the chat snarking as much as Luna, genuinely enjoying her reactions;  _ oh my god, what is going on, NO REAL PERSON ACTS LIKE THAT _ \- he thinks he succeeds pretty well in not letting on just how much the events on screen are actually emotionally affecting him. 

They get through five episodes before Luna calls it a ‘night’ - it’s closer to noon for her, really, which is always a weird thought to think when the sun is just beginning to dip below the horizon for Hau.

> **luGnarly:** enjoy your dinner, hau <3   
>  **hauwwo:** when do i not enjoy food   
>  **luGnarly:** lmao fair point   
>  **luGnarly:** don’t watch ahead of me. find some other teledrama to get invested in. my mama watches corviknight street, you might like that   
>  **hauwwo:** I KNEW YOU’D LIKE IT, YOU LIVE FOR THAT DRAMA    
>  **hauwwo:** AND HEY. I IN NO WAY UNIRONICALLY ENJOY TELEDRAMAS.   
>  **luGnarly:** sure, jan

The green dot by Luna’s name winks out, and her name itself grays out.

> **hauwwo:** it doesn’t count as getting the last word if you leave before the other person can respond, you know. it only counts if you mic drop @ me so hard i literally have no words or dignity left

The messages sit in their chat, frustratingly unread. Hau sighs, and accepts the loss.

Ma hasn’t called him down to dinner yet, so he places his (now empty) malasada plate on the floor by his feet and readjusts his desk back to normal, so his stationary and keyboard are neatly where they’re supposed to be. He reaches into his backpack, and pulls out his homework packet.

He starts with math. He’s good at it, in an uninspired, textbook sort of way, but he never enjoys it, and he wants to get it over and done with first. 

Of course, it still takes him a while. He’s maybe two-thirds of the way through the worksheet when ma calls him down to dinner, and he blinks as he realises it’s gone fully dark outside.

“Did you have a good time with Luna?” Ma asks the question as he skids into the dining room on his socks, nearly overshooting the table entirely; he only manages to stop moving by gripping onto the back of Malie’s highchair; as she’s jolted, she giggles wildly. Ma looks like she’s on the verge of scolding him, but settles for rolling her eyes as Hau regains his balance and settles into his own seat.

“Yeah, we watched a few episodes of  _ The Young & The Rayquaza _ ,” Hau says. “It was fun.”

“That’s brain rot waiting to happen,” dad says, mild and wise, and deeply amused. “Teledramas kill, kids.”

“That’s drugs, dad,” Healani says, only a year older than Hau but blessed with infinitely more patience. “Drugs kill.”

“What’s the difference?” Dad asks, and grins. “Your grandfather is so obsessed with these shows that it probably counts as some sort of addiction, and now he’s dragging your precious little brother into it. Corruption of our youth by our Kahuna - what would the Tapu say?”

“That you speak like a Unovan tabloid,” Ma says dryly. “Can we please have some normal dinner conversation? Just once?”

“Impossible,” they all echo at once (Little Malie tries her best to join in - “‘pobble!” She exclaims, and jabs her soft plastic fork forward into the air). Laughter then follows, echoing around the table before quieting as they all dig in.

When Hau Akamu is thirteen years old, he’s been friends with Luna Durand for almost three years -

\- and he doesn’t know it then, but within the year, that friendship is going to change his life.

**Author's Note:**

> I started working on this almost a year ago (it was my NaNo project, before I got sucked into AI:TSF and completely forgot to care about NaNo) and I literally only just finished this one opening piece now - I finally got my hands on Sword and the Pokemon special interest has risen from the GRAVE.
> 
> Some things of note:
> 
> \- This fic is told chronologically, but with uneven time jumps between each perspective. This AU will have characters aged up, but just be aware that the ages of the characters in each scene isn't indicative of what ages they all are at the same time. By the time we get to main game timeline, Luna and Hau will be fifteen, turning sixteen, Lillie will be fourteen, turning fifteen, and Gladio will be solidly, recently, sixteen.
> 
> \- I have not played the Ultra versions for Sun or Moon (I have not played any version of Sun at all) so most Ultra things will be left out of this 'verse, as I have little to no knowledge of them. Some things may yet be incorporated, but I wouldn't hold out hope.
> 
> \- It'll follow Pokemoon's plot pretty well for like, the initial island, and then I'm taking this train completely off of its rails, so just a forewarning: if you're here for an AU that's a more fleshed out novelisation of canon, you are not going to find that here, I'm sorry.
> 
> \- I mention Unovan and Galarian as separate languages even though I personally see them just as American and British English, so instead just see them as different dialects of the same language. Much like Zigzagoons apparently did, said language probably originated in Galar! 
> 
> \- The worldbuilding regarding starters/leagues etc comes about because just...the pokemon world is so chaotic. I needed to throw some bureaucracy in there. Take note that a lot of these changes are recent, though (and more are happening) - in this world, it wasn't all that long ago that, yes, children as young as ten were going on dangerous pokemon journeys, taking down criminal organizations...in fact, it's almost as if, whatever happened with a certain set of kids a little over a decade ago is what triggered such a drastic change in how things are done...
> 
> References:
> 
> \- _The Young & The Rayquaza:_ The Young & The Reckless  
> \- _Corviknight Street:_ Coronation Street  
> \- _trapin.ch:_ rabb.it (may it rest in peace)
> 
> Fun Fact:
> 
> The gdoc for this WIP is just called "(gladion voice) on all levels except physical i am dead" and you do not know what it cost me to not name the series that.
> 
> Shipping?
> 
> _:3_


End file.
